Research into night habits of primary school children finds link between noisy sleepers and behaviour
If your child is not doing well in school and gets cranky easily, check whether he or she snores at night, a paediatrics expert says.
Associate Professor Albert Martin Li, of Chinese University, who specialises in sleep-related breathing disorders, found that children who snore are twice as likely to be hyperactive and perform poorly in school than those who sleep peacefully. There is also a 75 per cent higher chance that they will be bad-tempered.
The findings emerged from a 2002-03 study of 6,471 primary school pupils aged between six and 13 at Sha Tin and Tai Po.
Responses from parents showed that 7.1 per cent of the children snored at least three nights a week, which is regarded as habitual snoring. It was projected that at least 30,000 primary school pupils across the city were habitual snorers. The figures did not include children in international schools.
Snoring is also a risk factor in obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition in which a person stops breathing temporarily because of a blocked airway.
Dr Li said this could be linked to the development of hypertension and could affect brain development in children as their oxygen supply was obstructed.
